


Quiet Night

by derireo



Series: the good ol' days [3]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Banter, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Crying, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, Piggy Backs, Platonic Cuddling, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28867581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derireo/pseuds/derireo
Summary: A continuation of the ficThe Workaholic.After Izumi's incident with the three men, she started to ignore their presences (save for Itaru). She felt awkward and unsure of herself—not really sure how to go about things.Itaru recommended she take her time.Tsumugi and Tasuku can't sit still any longer.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Tachibana Izumi, Tachibana Izumi & Takatoo Tasuku, Tachibana Izumi & Tsukioka Tsumugi
Series: the good ol' days [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021798
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	1. Fear

**Author's Note:**

> hiii to the very few readers who wanted to see the workaholic have a resolved ending! here it is! i hope you enjoy c:
> 
> none of this is beta'd

She tried her best to stay quiet as she toed off her shoes and tucked her feet into her indoor slippers, adamant on not waking anybody up due to how late it was.

It was only dress rehearsal, but it was just as exhausting as opening night.

Izumi was tired.

She was lucky enough to receive a ride home from the theatre's director, or else she would have gotten home at three in the morning.

Tiptoeing up the stairs, Izumi sucked her lips in to steady her breathing, bag heavy on her shoulder as it swayed back and forth with her awkward movements.

She froze when she heard a pair of familiar footfalls coming from the balcony.

Heavy footsteps accompanied by light padding.

She knew who it was.

Hanging her head, Izumi clutched her bag tight to her chest and took long strides towards the hallway, doing her best to shrink as small as she could so that she could get by undetected.

One of them called her name but she ignored it, breath quickening as her heart pounded in her ears.

_Please. Not now._

"Izumi—" A hushed voice pleaded with her, the sensation of a hand wrapping around her elbow almost making her scream.

The grip was loose and gave her enough of a chance to twist away from who it was trying to stop her.

Out of reflex, she slapped at the person who touched her elbow and whipped around with terrified eyes.

It was Tasuku with Tsumugi standing not too far behind.

She felt her mouth go dry.

"It's okay." She managed to choke out and held up a defensive hand to keep Tasuku from moving any closer towards her.

In his eyes, she looked scared. Her gaze wouldn't meet his no matter how hard he tried to walk into her peripheral and she kept stepping back whenever he inched forward.

It— what he said earlier couldn't have been that bad to elicit a reaction like this, right? Something must've happened at that theatre tonight, _right?_

He was denying that the mess was his fault, but in the back of his head he knew that it was. _Dammit_.

Even Tsumugi was easier to deal with, but Izumi? He didn't know what to do. Years with her and he still didn't know what to do.

"Did something happen?" Tasuku asked her to which Izumi ran a hand through her hair, throat tightening.

"I'm okay." She shook her head.

Tsumugi clapped Tasuku's shoulder with an apologetic smile.

"Tasuku, let's just go to bed." He sighed, lightly pulling at his friend to make him move his feet.

"Tonight's not the night." He urged, shaking Tasuku's shoulder to drag him away from his spot so that Izumi could go to her room.

Her smile was grateful albeit pained.

"I—" Tasuku couldn't continue his sentence, stuck between whether he should reach out for Izumi again or let her go.

But he didn't want to let her go. Not like what he did with Tsumugi. Not like what they did with Izumi when they graduated.

_No_ , _please_. He missed them too much to let history repeat itself.

He didn't want anyone to disappear again.

The silence that befell them all was enough for Izumi's feet to carry her away to her bedroom, the director quietly thanking any gods above for giving her a break.

She needed a break.

No. _No._ She still had so much to do.

And if there was nothing left, she was going to make sure there was something.


	2. Itaru: Late Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru visits Izumi right after the tiny scene she had made with Tasuku and Tsumugi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta'd

"Knock, knock." Gently, Itaru knocked his knuckles against Izumi's door as he opened it, wide enough for his body to fit between the doorway and the oak.

"Was wonderin' if I could take a nap in your bed."

Izumi didn't glance up from her papers, finger being bitten between her teeth. "What's wrong with yours?"

"I don't know. I can't sleep." Itaru shrugged his shoulders, fiddling with his phone that was in his pocket. "Thought maybe your bed would make it easier."

The director paused for a moment, but yielded after a moment or two. "...Okay. Come in." Her brown eyes looked away from the documents then, and with an apprehensive stare, Izumi let Itaru in anyways.

She sighed, unwilling to put up a fight and waved her hand to let him know it was okay for him to slip inside.

Although the event that happened earlier yesterday was still fresh in their minds, they stayed quiet about it. As if it had never happened in the first place.

"It's late." Itaru stated the obvious, doing his best with small talk.

....He never really liked small talk.

Izumi nodded her head, not looking back as Itaru walked around her desk to head straight for her bed, a relaxed sigh seeping out of his lips once he fell back onto the soft memory foam mattress.

"Why not take a nap with me?" He offered, and, coming from Itaru this suggestion would normally sound cheeky, but he was solemn this time around.

He sounded just as tired as Izumi felt.

Izumi chuckled into her hand and smiled briefly at an old water stain on her desk.

"If I sleep now I'll get a nightmare." She croaked, nails pressed to her lips as she anxiously bit at her fingers while she scrawled her neat writing across a document.

The dark circles beneath her eyes were more prominent with the desk lamp on and her bedroom lights off, and really, it was a sight to see.

She looked tired as she edited the paper in front of her with shaking pupils and a trembling hand. If anybody else saw this they'd probably clam up due to the sheer awkwardness of it all. Nobody would want to see their director like this.

Izumi didn't hear the usual grunting and dashing sound effect from Itaru's phone and sighed. "Don't worry about me. I'm just doing some work, so you can still take that nap on my bed if you want."

Itaru checked his phone to see what the time was then frowned. She'd been up for way too long already.

"Hey." He sat up from her bed and stood on his feet, using his large strides to quickly reach Izumi before she could continue another document.

She ignored the presence behind her, but could tell Itaru was itching to reach out for her hand if she made another move.

Plucking away the pen that sat immobile between her fingers, Itaru carefully scooted Izumi's chair away from her desk so that she wouldn't reach out for anything else.

"Let's sleep." Itaru said, resting his hands on Izumi's shoulders.

She was tense beneath his touch, muscles tight from the stress she had been experiencing the whole day. It made Itaru want to pry his hands away.

The Director was the scariest when she was at her worst.

Izumi sighed. She didn't want to sleep.

She needed to finish a few more documents in order for her to feel like she had done enough, but Itaru wasn't letting her continue. With each inch she leaned forward the tighter the hands on her shoulders would get.

He wasn't asking her. She was going to sleep.

"Okay." She conceded before Itaru could open his mouth again, the pen in her hand dropping to her desk with a sense of frustration. _God_. Sometimes she really wished that she lived alone. "Just let go of me."

Itaru raised his hands up in surrender and backed away from the chair to let Izumi stand, casually crawling back onto the spot he claimed on her bed while pretending to check on a game on his phone.

Her chair scratched against the old floorboards in her room, and the screech made Itaru grind his teeth in mild annoyance. Izumi's awareness was really lacking sometimes.

"It's late. You can bear to be a little more considerate for the other residents here." Itaru mumbled as he tapped at his black screen to check the time for the umpteenth time.

Izumi smiled dryly, tucking in her chair with her tongue in her cheek. As if _he_ was considerate enough to stay quiet while he played late into the night.

"You're free to go back to your room, Chigasaki." She jabbed a finger in his direction and threw a pillow in front of Itaru, laying across from him with the small cushion separating the two.

They lay perpendicular to the bed, their heads nearly touching the wall. Itaru mused at the all too familiar tone she used when calling him by his surname.

Itaru's smile was just as fake as the tone in Izumi's voice. "I'll stay, thank you."

The smile dropped just as fast as it came and he let his phone slip from his fingers. He propped his elbow up and rest his cheek in his palm, staring down at Izumi who had her head resting on her arm.

He stared a little longer to give himself time to properly articulate his thoughts.

The look Izumi gave him made him rush.

"You okay?" He asked, _lamely_ , if Izumi was allowed to say.

She let a sigh escape her lips and she nodded. Now that she's calmed down and isn't being approached by the Winter Pair, Izumi felt slightly better than before.

Not enough to say she was feeling good, but just enough to say that she was feeling alright.

"If this is about yesterday evening you can forget about it." She dismissed Itaru while he was in the middle of opening his mouth again. "I just need some time to get over it and then it'll be like nothing ever happened."

Her response would have been enough to ease anyone else's worries; what, with how she made it sound like it was a normal occurrence for her to have these moments.

Unfortunately, Itaru wasn't convinced. He understood all too well this false display of indifference she was giving him and he didn't like how she was avoiding the problem.

He saw what had transpired in the hallway earlier.

"Act like nothing happened when you slapped him?" He scoffed, reaching out for the pillow between them to gently throw it at the director's side.

"He touched me without my permission." She murmured, letting herself be hit by the soft cushion. It was true that he didn't ask for permission, but it was out of sorts for someone like Izumi to hit anyone. Even if she was in danger, she'd never hit someone.

It was a good excuse, but Itaru knew better than that when it came to Izumi.

"You're not the type to hit people." Itaru frowned, magenta eyes silently analysing the woman in front of him. "If you won't talk to Tsumugi or Tasuku, I can be the next one to listen, you know."

He made a show of turning his phone off and tossed it behind him with a reassuring smile.

"I didn't give you the time of day back then, but I can surely give it to you now."

* * *

"I was told I was a liability." Izumi mumbled after a few moments of thinking, eyes glazed over as she dipped her fingers in the murky waters that flooded her mind.

"My mom had to work multiple jobs when my dad left and rarely came home. I did what I could at the time; cleaned the house, made the beds, cooked meals on the days she'd come back."

She droned on like she was recounting an event that had happened only yesterday. Her brown eyes were unblinking, staring at the centre of Itaru's chest as she spoke.

"It wasn't enough." Izumi shrugged, bringing a hand up to her face to examine her nails. "She'd come home and barely recognize any of the things I did for her."

"' _Why am I working so many jobs when you're sitting there doing nothing?_ '" Izumi mocked her mother.

"' _Why do I hear complaining? What are you so 'depressed' for? Get over it._ '"

Izumi bit at her lips and let her hand fall to the mattress, eyes barely shining as she offered Itaru a glance.

"Money was tight for us so I got a job in order to pay for my own meals and supplies. Not having enough time to go home was a bonus. I figured I'd rather work and study full-time in order to feel like I was doing enough.

My mom was working more than one job and she thought _that_ was enough, so if I was studying and working at the same time that would have been enough too, right?"

Izumi's question made Itaru automatically bob his head and it caused her to smile.

"Then she came after my grades. They were falling as I worked, but I was desperate to become independent because my mom deserved a break." Izumi rubbed her tired eyes with a sigh.

"But what could I do, you know? I was only a kid." She laughed, but her smile quickly turned into a pained frown. "Even so, I wish I could have done more for her."

Itaru looked at Izumi as if what she had said didn't make sense, his eyes scrutinizing.

"I loved my mom, Itaru. I still do." Izumi choked, clenching her teeth to feign a smile as she pushed at Itaru's chest. He didn't seem to understand, but what she said was true.

"So, I guess what I did for her bleeds into what I do for the company."

"But the company appreciates you." Itaru murmured. He rubbed at the spot Izumi had touched and rolled onto his back, pink irises staring up at the ceiling. "You don't have to prove your worth to us."

"I don't know. Sometimes it feels like I'm not doing enough." She picked at her nails for a brief moment the dropped her hand atop her chest, a hint of a smile gracing her features.

She found it funny that she was the director of this company with no talent for the art of acting whatsoever. With what she lacked, she recompensed with hours upon hours of hard work, dedication, and tears. If she couldn't even bring _that_ to the table, there would have been no point in trying to save the company in the first place.

"Work was all I could think of. Friends and family were the farthest from my mind." She said, closing her eyes for a second to rest her aching lids.

"But they were with you everyday. Tasuku and Tsumugi." Itaru frowned; still confused by the part with Tasuku and Tsumugi. "They were like— your caregivers."

He didn't really know what else to say at this point without setting Izumi off and opted to close his mouth after his last statement, rubbing the side of his neck.

"They didn't know me." She scoffed. There was an upset feeling building up in her stomach at the mention of the other two men, and Itaru could see her expression twist into something akin to distaste.

"I didn't ask for pity, Itaru. I was doing just fine on my own." And it was true. Because although her grades dropped, Izumi still managed to keep them high enough to avoid cram school.

Itaru knew that, at the very least. Their teachers had rarely talked to her about her grades, and letters directed to her mother were always ignored or hoarded in her school bag.

But Itaru didn't know about the times when she'd go home or stay at school after a long day of working and studying.

He was especially impressed with the sheer endurance she had when joining after school activities like sports and baking or sewing.

Izumi rarely took care of herself back then, but it looked like there was always someone out there putting on bandages for her.

Sore fingers were soothed with wraps and ointments while bruises were covered with salonpas.

Itaru even remembered the one time he had actually seen Tasuku and Tsumugi visit their school during one of Izumi's matches.

He wasn't sure why he was there in the first place. He never really liked sports and he hated staying at school for so long, but—...after that one instance of seeing her on the school's rooftop, Itaru was curious.

He knew she was deeply involved with sports and decided to stay after school to watch one of her matches. And he had watched how Tasuku skillfully taped her shoulder and thigh while Tsumugi spoke to her animatedly.

Itaru remembered how distracted she got during her team's warm-up, and how her coach scolded her by knocking his clipboard against the back of her head.

He could remember how she had stuck her tongue out bashfully and slapped her neck when her coach left and the pair before her looked on, stunned.

It was a funny image. And it was the image that stuck with Itaru when he had officially met Tasuku and Tsumugi at the company.

Itaru rolled back onto his side to look at Izumi who sighed at the movement.

"I think they were telling the truth." He whispered quietly. Cushioning his head with his arm, Itaru stared at Izumi until she squirmed around on the bed to look back at him, and he went silent.

Her eyes were filling with tears.

"I think so, too." She whispered back, clenching her jaw. "And that's why I feel so sorry for forgetting."

The whites to her eyes grew red as warm tears started to flow down her face, and she quickly moved to wipe them away before Itaru could comment.

Despite that, he could hear Izumi choking on her breath with each brush of her sleeve against her skin. The sight of her breaking down was enough for Itaru to act upon the urge to pat her cheek, his large palm cradling the side of her face as she hid it from him out of embarrassment.

Itaru felt that he couldn't say anything. There was nothing good enough to comfort her anyways. His teenage self didn't want to be there for her back then, and it was, unfortunately, biting him in the ass.

Izumi could only laugh as his thumb gave a soothing swipe to her cheek, and with a flustered hand gently knocked him away to remove the pity he was blanketing her with.

"I'm okay." She sniffled. The disapproving grunt from Itaru and the sudden pinching of her cheek made Izumi laugh again, but more genuine this time, and she reached out to push at his chest while he assaulted her face with pinches and flicks of his fingers. " _Seriously_ , Itaru. It's—I'm _fine_."

He didn't relent until Izumi held his wrist in her hand and returned it to the cheek he had cradled not too long ago.

Pressing his lips together, his thumb went back to its previous ministrations and soothed her skin with its swiping motion, feeling his heart beat grow steady and calm now that she was no longer crying.

"I...wish I had helped you back then." He breathed softly. Inquisitive eyes trailed up to his face at his statement, and he swallowed, smiling bashfully when Izumi encouraged him to continue with a squeeze to his wrist.

"I saw you cry on the school's rooftop once." Itaru winced. The memory was still so vivid in his head; he could almost hear the desperate calls for her father and the wind that cut at his skin on that particular day.

Izumi stared up at him with wonder, slowly blinking her eyes.

"I didn't bother to ask what was wrong. I just...left."

He pursed his lips when Izumi chuckled and then winced when she gave him a friendly punch to the chest.

"Knowing you, I am not very surprised." The playful jab made Itaru grimace, but Izumi was quick to soothe the pang in his heart by squishing his own cheek in her hand, eyes smiling.

"It's okay. Don't feel sorry." She kicked his shin to make him stop frowning. "We're friends now. Don't you think high school Itaru would be patting you on the back right now?"

Itaru kicked her back, poking his tongue out when Izumi slapped his side.

"High school Itaru is wondering why I'm talking to a girl at two in the morning when I could be playing games right now."

" _Wow_." Izumi teased, then gave Itaru another slap. "High school Itaru was an asshole." She laughed as the man before her covered her face with his hand, both of the adults dramatically swatting at each other.

"Had to be." He chuckled, ruffling Izumi's hair.

Catching their breath, Izumi and Itaru both looked at each other with smiles on their faces while their arms and legs tired out.

Then after another minute Izumi's face fell, and she caught her lip between her teeth with a frown.

"...I still have to talk to those two, huh?"

Itaru's smile fell too.

"Yeah..." He pondered quietly, the pair mirroring each other as they brought their arms beneath their heads again. "Maybe try Tsumugi first and then Tasuku? Y'know. Work yourself up to the final boss and all of that."

"Ugh. Don't compare my situation to your games, Itaru." Izumi groaned, reaching behind her to grab a pillow and gently smash it into Itaru's side.

"Excuse you. That was a great analogy." The man scoffed, not even bothering to dodge from the attack.

"But like, _seriously_. Give yourself some time before approaching Tasuku. Both of you are like ticking time bombs."

Izumi couldn't help but agree. After slapping Tasuku away, she felt that it was probably for the best if she stayed away from him for a while.

She puffed out a breath. "Fine."

"Good. Okay. _Nap tiiiiiime_." Itaru huffed out lazily, ridding the pillows that came between them to roll into Izumi's personal space, his body coming to wrap itself around her.

And with a tired laugh, Izumi returned the affection, arms coming up to curl around his waist while Itaru's leg came to hook against her hip.

...It was too bad that they never became friends in high school, but...at least they were now able to make up for lost time.


	3. Tsumugi: Rice Cooker Alarm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days pass and Tsumugi ventures out to the lounge room where Izumi is fast asleep atop the coffee table.
> 
> He sits beside her and waits for the rice cooker to click.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta'd

The faint smell of rice cooking had lured Tsumugi out of his bedroom when he came across Izumi. It had been a few days since he last talked to her, and to be frank, he missed her.

Even if she was only a floor away and was always around when he was practicing, or gardening, or tutoring—Tsumugi missed her.

He understood why she was avoiding him. After that awkward conversation with some of the kids around to the incident he witnessed between her and Tasuku...he just couldn't blame Izumi for pretending he wasn't there.

Okay, saying that was an exaggeration. Of course, she smiled at him (sometimes), greeted him in the morning and would ask him to pass over seasonings during dinner, but that was about it.

Their conversations had gone from fun, playful teasing to superficial chats in the blink of an eye.

Tsumugi figured that all Izumi needed was time.

...But seeing her asleep on the floor with her torso laying across the coffee table, Tsumugi wasn't sure how much longer he could deal with this.

It was already evening; possibly even midnight, and here Izumi was. Sleeping alone in the dim lounge room with nothing but the steam from the rice cooker keeping her warm.

Tsumugi stopped by the sofa with bated breath, staring at her slumbering form.

He thought the scene looked all too familiar with him and had to take a moment to collect his thoughts on the matter.

Tsumugi couldn't help but reminisce those days where he would walk Izumi home with Tasuku, and how they'd always be invited in just to keep Izumi company.

She was always a little embarrassed when she'd ask for them to stay with her a little while longer, her smile on the verge of wobbling as the anxiety welled up inside her.

Tsumugi never declined. And Tasuku always joined too.

Izumi's face would contort into a joyous expression when they'd accept, and she'd always push the door to her house open just a smidgen more.

Tasuku and Tsumugi would smile at her when she'd shuffle back for them to enter, and to respect the house and whoever was in it, the two boys would always bow.

' _Sorry for the intrusion_.'

' _Thank you for having us_.'

Tsumugi could vividly remember the small circular table that sat in the middle of her living room, and the set of folded blankets and a pillow on one end of it.

' _I'll cook us some rice to eat_.' She'd always say, so enthusiastic. Despite being an exhausted student, Izumi always found the energy return to her whenever the boys visited.

Of course, Tsumugi and Tasuku would protest and tell her that they'd rather do it themselves than let her. They already knew how long she'd been working, adding to that the ungodly amount of hours school had taken from their day.

And _of course_ , Izumi would protest just as much. She already knew how terrible they were at cooking.

Tsumugi found himself smiling at the memory that ingrained itself in his head, and before he knew it he was sitting beside Izumi on the floor while she slept, fingers lightly brushing away the hair that covered her face.

She'd always fall asleep while the rice was still cooking back then, and Tsumugi couldn't help the fuzzy feeling that filled his heart when he saw that this was still a habit of hers: taking a nap on top of paper work while the rice cooked.

It was only until they heard the click that Izumi opened her eyes, body that was once slouched across the table now stretching backwards as her mouth opened to let out a yawn.

She let her eyes fall closed again and collapsed against the sofa, causing Tsumugi to mirror her latter action with a smile gracing his lips.

It seemed like she never changed despite all of the years that passed them by.

With a gentle hand, Tsumugi quietly approached Izumi and touched her cheek with his fingers. The action was delicate and wasn't intended to wake Izumi right away, but the slight scrunch of her eyebrows told Tsumugi that he was already disturbing her.

The man giggled and scooted closer to her, lightly squishing her cheek in his palm while his other hand came up to gently tousle her hair.

" _Wake up, Izumi_." He whispered, grinning when the woman groaned and swatted at his hands.

"Stop..." She whined, but didn't make a move to pull away when Tsumugi refused her orders. Izumi's body still felt way too heavy to move, but she knew the rice cooker had turned off...

"I'll get Tasuku to drag you to your room if you don't get up." An eerie voice murmured into her ear, and that's when her eyes flew open once more. Izumi jolted to complete consciousness when someone's breath tickled her ear and she nearly fell over at the sight of Tsumugi right in her face.

"Oh god." She gasped tiredly, hand pressing into Tsumugi's chest with an awkward laugh.

"Hi." Tsumugi smiled and let himself be pushed away. He kept himself at a respectable distance but was still close enough to feel the heat that radiated off of Izumi's body.

"Hello." She returned the warm expression and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Um. So what brings you here?"

Propping his elbow against the sofa, Tsumugi leaned against his arm and looked up at the ceiling as he pretended to think. A soft hum of curiosity left his nostrils as Izumi fiddled with her thumbs, and when he looked back at her with a glint in his eye, Izumi wasn't sure how to react.

"I was wondering who was cooking rice." Tsumugi shrugged, but the smile on his face told her that that wasn't all there was to it.

"I was looking for you."

That made her perk up.

"Oh, did you need help with anything?" She tilted her head. "I can probably do something for you."

Her eagerness to help put a smile on Tsumugi's face, but the cold sadness that enveloped his shoulders made him sag.

He would like it if she stopped thinking about work every now and then.

"I was hoping we could talk, actually." Tsumugi said, unsure as he picked at his pants. "I missed you...and was wondering if we could clear the air."

"Oh." Izumi breathed.

Her silence afterwards was loud, and Tsumugi could feel it rattle his nerves and bones as he felt the awkwardness seep into the room. Like a cold stream biting at his ankles.

"I really...don't want to end up like this again, Izumi. I don't think I can lose you a second time."

Tsumugi ran a hand through his hair and sighed, disheartened. He knew things had been rough for the past few days, but he wasn't going to let them fall apart again. He couldn't continue to let these things happen.

As the oldest in their group, it was the least he could do, right?

Izumi watched as Tsumugi stressed over what to say and pulled at her shirt anxiously, teeth sinking into her lip out of habit. She averted her attention to his aggravated face to his shirt, and took count of the many threads that looped at the seam.

She murmured things, incoherently, but Tsumugi saw how she was trying to keep herself calm. He wanted to smile—apologetically, and reward her with a pat to the head for doing so well, but he knew she'd probably flinch if he did so.

And just as he was about to say what was on his mind, Izumi beat him to it.

"I wanted to say sorry." She whispered.

The statement was sudden, and it caused Tsumugi to pause in drinking his water. His blue eyes followed every move of Izumi's as she fidgeted around in her seat in front of him, and to reassure her he quickly took a sip then put his bottle down, sliding his hands towards her cheeks.

"What are you sorry for?" The man laughed, smile slowly waning at the embarrassed frown Izumi wore. He could see her gaze switch between him and her hands as he held her face in his palms, and eventually his smile fell to a frown. He noted how the mist in her eyes formed into tears, and he noted how Izumi closed them so that he wasn't in her field of sight.

"Um. E-Everything?" She laughed back at him and even managed to smile. The lift of her lips trembled when trying to brush off the crack in her voice, and soon enough Izumi was knocking Tsumugi's hands away to hide her face from him.

"I don't—I don't think you're lying about us...but it's still really hard to wrap my head around." She said through her hands and hung her head with shame, her tears leaking through the cracks between her fingers.

"I'm sorry for forgetting you two. It's just a huge blur to me, and when I try to remember I _can't_ , and I—"

Tsumugi hushed her with a gentle hiss from his teeth and reached out to cradle Izumi to his chest, hands rubbing her shoulders and neck to keep her calm.

"You're making yourself panic," he mumbled into her ear, hearing just how erratic her breathing had become, "take your time. I'm willing to wait."

He took one of Izumi's hands from her face and placed it atop the spot where his heart would be. Tsumugi told her to focus on it's beat and steady her breathing while he rocked her side to side.

The gentle thrum of his heart pulsed beneath her fingers as Izumi carefully listened to each step, and sniffled while planting her face against his neck.

"Memory loss can be a side-effect to trauma." Tsumugi whispered to her quietly and brushed his fingers through the tangles in her hair, his other hand running down the curve of her back to check if she was still trembling.

"Maybe you don't see your past as traumatic, but it would explain why you always struggle to remember things, as trivial or serious as they are." He continued when she no longer rumbled beneath him.

"Like how you don't remember your graduation day." Tsumugi hummed, resting his head against Izumi's while she kept quiet.

"Tasuku and I tried to make it since you told us your mom wasn't coming, but our own ceremony ran longer than we anticipated."

Tsumugi sighed at the memory; could remember how much his heart raced when he realised just how late they were.

"By the time we had made it to your house to apologise, you never responded to our knocks. And we could hear your mother shouting."

His lungs burned at the thought. As if he had run the six kilometres all over again. As if he could hear the pain in Izumi's voice as she struggled to talk back to her mother.

"And maybe you can't remember the days where Tasuku would carry you home when you were too exhausted to walk." He quickly changed the subject into something more nicer to imagine, and cuddled Izumi closer when he realised she was listening to his every word.

"He would pretend he was annoyed when I'd ask him to help, but I knew he secretly liked hoisting you around everywhere." Tsumugi could hear the soft puff of breath Izumi released and smiled, pressing their cheeks together.

"Tasuku would say: ' _If it helps me with my exercise_...'" He mocked, and felt his shoulders relax when Izumi let out a warm laugh against his neck.

"I don't blame you for being unable to remember, Izumi." Tsumugi murmured once she had properly calmed down and closed his eyes when the director slid her arms around his waist to reciprocate the hug.

"It may have hurt me. _A lot_. But I know I have to understand." He soothed.

"Even if we lost years of our friendship, _you've_ lost years of your childhood. I don't get to be mad at you for something you can't control." Tsumugi carefully pried Izumi away from his neck so that he could face her, and he brought a hand up to her cheek to brush away the wet tears that still stuck to her skin.

"I can only be grateful that I even got to meet you again." He frowned, still swiping at the moisture on her face. "Tasuku was out of line, I know. I talked some sense into him even though he's a big, dumb, meanie and should have figured it out on his own."

Tsumugi rolled his eyes which elicited a quiet giggle from Izumi.

The man smiled and went to squish the director's face in his hands, leaning in to playfully nuzzle their noses together.

"Tasuku was probably hurt more than I was though. Friendship means a lot to him. I think the fact that you had disappeared and suddenly _reappeared_ was a punch to his face. And hearing you say you didn't remember us was what set him off.

He's—he was really brash, I know. And he said those things that triggered your anxiety and your defense mechanisms and I should have _stopped_ —"

Now it was Izumi's turn to hug Tsumugi. She hushed him kindly just like he did to her and squeezed him tight to her just, bumping her nose against his ear.

"It's okay... I already know what our Tasuku is like." She laughed, ruffling the hair at the back of Tsumugi's head. "I was there when you two were still in the process of reconciliation."

"...So thank you, Tsumugi. For understanding me." Izumi smiled and pushed Tsumugi away to squish his face like he did to her earlier, eyes curving into slits when his surprised face made it to her attention.

"I hope I can remember things little by little. It sounded like we had a lot of fun together."

And really, that was all Tsumugi wanted to hear. It was _everything_ Tsumugi wanted to hear.

With trembling lips the man lunged at Izumi once more and engulfed her in a tight hug that had her wheezing with laughter, his body heavy on top of Izumi's as she wrapped around him just as tight.

"Do you still remember how to cook your low budget fried rice?" Tsumugi whispered curiously, remembering that there was still some leftovers in the fridge.

"The one with egg?" Izumi asked in the same tone.

" _And_ fried eggs?" Tsumugi said, hopeful.

"I do." Izumi grinned, and giggled when the man immediately yanked her up from the floor to drag her to the kitchen.

"Let's cook some!"


	4. Tasuku: Sprained Ankle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru asks Tasuku to pick Izumi up from the station, but every one took each vehicle he could drive.
> 
> Izumi is knocked over by someone, and she struggles to walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta'd

Tasuku was feeling restless.

It had been nearly a week since his last interaction with Izumi and it was making him terribly anxious. If this were any other person he might have looked the other way and deliberately forget about them, but this was _Izumi._

Izumi, his director.

Izumi, his _friend_.

He was pacing around Veludo Station waiting for her. Itaru had told him that he wasn't able to pick her up tonight because of work so he had rushed over on foot because none of the vehicles were available.

When he saw her exit, he called out for her urgently, but couldn't reach her in time when she turned in his direction at the same time a drunken man had bumped into her.

" _Shit!_ " She cursed out loud and tripped over her own foot and skirt, stumbling like a newborn fawn as she crashed into the ground.

"Izumi!" Tasuku gasped and ran full-spring towards her while the drunkard stumbled away, and he carefully put his hands on the director to see if she was alright.

The sight of the man made her tense, and when their eyes met, her body began to move on its own.

She shuffled quickly, scooting backwards and away, but—

"Izumi, it's me— _stop_." The flustered look on the director's face upon seeing Tasuku approach seeped the breath out of the man, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears as she continued to shuffle away from him on the ground.

"You—you probably hurt your ankle. Stop moving away." Tasuku pleaded, desperately trying to ignore the curious looks that passersby sent the pair. "You're getting yourself dirty."

He quickly turned around to pick her back pack up from the floor and slung it to his front, shuffling back towards Izumi who stared at him in shock.

"Give me your arm." Tasuku whispered and held his hand out for her to take. "Let me take you home."

He could hear the worry lacing her breathing as she continued to sit there, and Tasuku was slowly losing faith in the fact that they were still okay.

He swallowed, carefully reaching out to clasp her elbow in his grip and brought her forward until she wasn't leaning on her arms anymore. Tasuku could tell she was frozen in place and saw the anxiety riddle her features as he crouched down with her and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you still trust me?"

The breath was slowly escaping her lungs.

"... _Izumi_." Tasuku whispered.

"Y-Yes." She strangled out. The fear of confronting Tasuku was ebbing away bit by bit, but the fact that he stood in front of her with those serious violet eyes of his left her trembling on the spot.

As much as she appreciated Tasuku, she witnessed herself how nasty he could get with people he didn't get along with, and she couldn't tell if he was acting with her or not.

Tasuku breathed a sigh of relief. But the tight feeling in his chest continued to stay.

"Where does it hurt?" He murmured, carefully placing his hands on her legs and squeezing at each muscle and tendon then ran down the length of her limbs. His thumbs and fingers prodded at her thighs as if he was searching for something, and only when he brushed her right ankle did she hiss.

" _There_." She sobbed, then cursed under her breath. " _Fuck_ , I'm gonna kill that guy."

The _guy_ had already stumbled away, so Tasuku couldn't exactly chase after him while Izumi was still on the ground. Looks like they were going to have to find him another night.

" _No_ you're not." Tasuku scoffed and turned so that his back faced her, lifting her right leg up to hook onto his thigh while he held his hands over his shoulders for Izumi to grab. "Come on. We need to go home so I can check on you properly."

"Uh...you didn't bring the car?" She asked hesitantly. Izumi wasn't really sure if she wanted to be seen carried home; it'd probably hurt her pride more than anything, and she wouldn't hear the end of it from the romantics: Taichi, Kazunari, and maybe even Muku.

"No." Tasuku frowned. "Itaru told me he couldn't pick you up, and Sakyo had the van for whatever reason. Fuyuki's borrowing my motorcycle, and— _just_. Izumi."

The man was nearly begging now, urgently waving his hands at her so that she could just _grab them._

"I'm—I'm _cold_." She whined, and tried to change the subject to quickly get over the embarrassment of the inevitable.

With an annoyed click of his tongue, Tasuku shoved her bag from his chest to shrug off the coat he was wearing, swiftly turning around on the balls of his feet to throw it over Izumi's shivering frame.

"You are so difficult." The man gritted out while at the same time aiding Izumi in looping her arms through the oversized sleeves of his denim coat. "Come on. Before I change my mind and leave you here."

He had already returned her bag to his chest and had his back to her once more, arms impatiently waiting to be grabbed my Izumi's gravel ridden hands.

"Good girl." Tasuku sighed when he felt Izumi's warmth blanket his back. He finally stood up once he held her beneath the thighs and made sure her knees were tight against his waist.

Izumi stayed quiet.

* * *

The silence was suffocating.

The only sound between the two was Tasuku's heavy footfalls and Izumi's tired breaths puffing against his reddened ear.

Keeping herself from slipping off his back was serious work, and she had no clue how Hisoka always managed this while at the same time dead to the world.

The walk was still a little bit of a long way to go considering Tasuku didn't take any shortcuts, and although it was nice to appreciate the neighbourhood this late at night, it was also _super_ awkward.

Her nose stung from the cold, and she sniffled with how runny it was getting.

Tasuku made a noise of complaint.

"Do I need to hold you like a baby in order for you to get warm?" He sighed in exasperation. It was but a statement said in the heat of his annoyance, but Tasuku could tell that Izumi was entertaining with the idea with how quiet she had gotten.

"I will not." Tasuku griped.

"Oh, come on." Izumi grouched, shuddering as tonight's wind slithered around her neck.

The silence returned after that and Tasuku had to inwardly kick himself for being so shit at conversations.

It looked like even Izumi didn't want to talk anymore, but he knew that if they got home without resolving their problems, Izumi was going to go back to ignoring him.

"Izumi." Tasuku sighed. He felt like he was doing that a lot right now.

With a quiet hum, Izumi's arms snuggled closer to his neck, and she hooked her chin atop her arm to blow a warm breath against his ear. "What's up."

"Dude—what the hell." Tasuku complained, tilting his head away from Izumi's annoying breathing.

He had to shake his head to remind himself of what he was supposed to be doing. "Ugh, god. I won't have another chance to say this, but Izumi...I'm sorry."

"Oh." She said.

Quiet.

Tasuku hated it.

It reminded him of those days when Izumi would be too exhausted to speak to any of them. She'd have her cheek pressed into the muscle of his shoulder and puff out those weak little breaths that left Tasuku itching to run to her house.

Sometimes she'd be too upset to even make a noise.

If something disappointed her, she'd bury her face into his shoulder and sniffle, maybe even cry.

He couldn't forget the way she had cried into his shoulder after one particular match, and how she kept mumbling into his uniform, blaming herself for their loss and hissing at her incompetence.

Tasuku and Tsumugi rarely said anything when she'd been like that, and frankly, Tasuku never wanted to.

She was so hard on herself that he had no idea how to comfort her.

He much preferred it when she fell asleep on him. At least that way he'd know that she was okay; only tired.

"I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. I turned against you for something you couldn't control because I thought you betrayed us." He said into the cold air. He didn't have to make sure she was listening. As long as he could apologise, that's all he wanted.

"After all of those years, watching you live in pain and having to take care of you because no one else was there to see if you were okay, I thought you had deliberately tried to forget us." He breathed, eyes staring down the long road.

Izumi stayed silent.

"I thought it was because we missed your graduation ceremony. I was so desperate to reach your house, but your mother was home. And we had to listen to your strong voice wane down into desperate sobs that grew in pitch as you panicked and—" Tasuku took a breath at the vivid memory.

"I wanted to break down that door so _bad_ , but I knew your mother never liked us."

"She would have called the cops." Izumi murmured into his shoulder, staring straight ahead.

Tasuku puffed out a chuckle and nodded, his slight smile turning into a concerned frown as he clenched his jaw.

"Yeah. She would've." He sniffed.

"And when I saw you again on Veludo...I thought I was seeing things. You didn't recognize me back then, and even when I joined the company you _still_ didn't know who I was. And hearing you say that you never had any friends, it made me wonder if we ever meant anything to you.

I couldn't understand why you were like that until Tsumugi explained it to me, and that's when it felt like the world had come crashing down."

Tasuku's voice shook as he continued to pour his heart out to Izumi, and she listened. She snuggled herself closer to his back to keep the both of them warm and let out a noise.

"Mm."

"I used the words I've heard your mom say countless of times when I swore I would never hurt you like that. I was selfish and thought of myself when I should have been concerned for you." He heaved, slowing down the pace of his feet to make sure he said everything that was on his mind.

"I can still remember the sound of your cries, and the devastation I felt when I learned that you had moved away. We never got to apologize to you." He murmured, swallowing the thick lump in his throat.

Blindly, Izumi placed her palms on Tasuku's cheeks and smiled, placing her chin atop his head with a refreshed sigh.

"...You apologised. And I understand things from your point of view." She said kindly, letting the cold breeze brush through her hair. "Let's stop being sad now. I forgive you."

"...And I don't like when you sound like you're gonna cry. It makes me sad so stop that." She added on playfully while squishing Tasuku's cheeks.

With a giggle, Izumi went back to hugging herself close to Tasuku's back, and he huffed out a barely amused laugh, but nodded.

"Fine. Thanks, Izumi."

"I'm sorry for slapping you." She murmured softly, but Tasuku shrugged.

"I deserved it."

* * *

"What the hell are you wearing a skirt for, dummy?" Tasuku hissed. Although it made things easier for him, it was still a poor choice of clothing for such a cold night. "It's still winter for goodness sake."

" _Damn_. Let a girl feel pretty, asshole." She hissed back, slapping at Tasuku's hands so that she could wipe her scratches herself.

"You're already pretty, _dumbass_." The man griped angrily and took off her knee high sock to replace it with a fresh pair of ankle highs. "Stop being a brat and let me take care of this stupid ankle."

"Ugh, if I could get Tsumugi or Itaru to do this I would." Izumi complained, the compliment Tasuku gave her flying over her head.

"Lucky that I'm the only one who studied kinesiology." The man rolled his eyes and unravelled the ankle brace in his hands to set it over Izumi's foot.

"Blah, blah, blah. Good for you, muscle junkie."

"I will leave you on this floor."

" _Oh nooo_ ~ fuck off." Izumi griped and took the bandages that sat beside her while Tasuku carefully move her leg around to adjust the straps on her ankle. Tasuku clicked his tongue at her and in response she threw the now empty box of bandages at his head.

She blatantly ignored the glare he threw her way and patched her scratches up with a huff.

Already knowing that Tasuku wasn't going to pick her up from the ground, she rolled to her knees with a huff and shoved her skirt away from her legs so that she wouldn't trip over them.

And just as she was about to stand—

"Oh for fuck— Izumi." Tasuku groaned and swiped up all the garbage from the floor and shoved it into his pocket, immediately sweeping Izumi off the ground and into his arms.

" _Noooo_." Izumi lamented and fell limp in Tasuku's arms to make it even harder for him.

"Shut up. I'm taking you to your room."

"Oh my god."

"What."

"You're gonna—oh god. I'm gonna die."

"I am about to drop you." He warned.

"You wouldn't d– _are!_ " Izumi screeched when Tasuku switched his grip and carried her like a sack of potatoes beneath his arm.

"Asshole!" She hissed, but all Tasuku did was hoist her up, causing the woman to groan.

But Izumi wondered. The ankle brace Tasuku put on her felt oddly familiar, and he had no issues with wrapping her ankle in it.

Had he done this before?


End file.
